After a five-week investigation from the Office of Student Conduct, UCLA extended Riley and Hill’s indefinite suspensions through the rest of the season on Friday, one day before the Bruins face No. 7 Kentucky in their nonconference season finale.

The pair of freshman forwards who were arrested for shoplifting in China last month will not be allowed to travel with the team or suit up for home games, but can start participate in practices and meetings starting Dec. 26.

“I’ve told our players all along that actions have consequences, and the season-long suspension shows how seriously we take their misconduct,” head coach Steve Alford said in a statement. “Though they will not suit up for games or travel with the team, I look forward to their return after the Christmas holiday. I am confident that they will make significant contributions to the university moving forward.”

Without Riley, Hill and former UCLA guard LiAngelo Ball, who was also arrested but has since left the team, the Bruins lost key depth to a bench that was supposed to run 11-men deep. UCLA forged on with a shortened rotation, but has yet to record a marquee NCAA resume-boosting win with one game left before Pac-12 play begins.

“While we acknowledge the difficulties that both Cody and Jalen have faced since returning to campus, we also know that their actions in China were contrary to the values of UCLA and harmful to both the university and our basketball program,” Athletic Director Dan Guerrero said in a statement Friday. “As members of the Bruin family, it is our responsibility to help them grow from this situation. We will continue to support them as students, as athletes and as young men, and we hope that they will use this as a learning experience.”

Saturday’s game against Kentucky (1 p.m., Ch. 2) in New Orleans is one of UCLA’s final chances for a big win as the struggling Pac-12 had only two ranked teams in the AP poll this week. UCLA faces each of those ranked teams, No. 3 Arizona State and No. 18 Arizona, only once this year.

UCLA’s best nonconference wins are against Wisconsin and Georgia Tech, who have a combined 10-12 record. They also needed overtime to get past Central Arkansas at home and nearly blew a 24-point second-half lead against South Dakota when they were held without a field goal for the final five minutes of the game.

The offense turned “selfish” after the Bruins piled up the mountainous lead, Alford said.

Senior center Thomas Welsh said the young team needs constant reminders to keep the ball flowing. In dead-ball moments, it’s a simple huddle with a small piece of advice from the team’s leaders.

Other times, the veteran may just have to do things himself.

“I think it’s a big thing to try to do going forward, to just demand the ball (in the post),” Welsh said, “and just be a presence when I get it and finding cutters or finding opportunities for myself.”

Welsh leads UCLA’s thin front court that has only three scholarship post players left after Hill and Riley’s suspensions.

Thuc Nhi Nguyen has covered UCLA for the Southern California News Group since 2016. A proud Seattle native, she majored in journalism and mathematics at the University of Washington. She likes graphs, animated GIFs and superheroes.